A 55-year-old Downey man has been charged with sexually abusing three female students at a charter school where he teaches in the Los Angeles area.
Juan Ramon Cardoza was arrested at his home Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced on Friday.
He has been charged with four felony counts of lewd acts upon a child and one count of child molesting, a misdemeanor, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The incidents allegedly took place between October 2012 and March 2013 at New Designs Charter School in unincorporated Los Angeles, according to the Sheriff's Department.
The alleged abuse involved a 13-year-old girl and two 14-year-old girls, the DA's office said. The Sheriff's Department described the victims as "between the ages of 14 and 15."
The incidents were reported to school officials, who contacted the Sheriff's Department.
New Designs has campuses near Watts and University Park, according to its website.
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Cardoza's bail is set at $320,000, and his arraignment hearing is scheduled for May 15 in Compton Superior Court.
Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau at (877)710-LASD(5273) or via the Department’s website at www.lasd.org.
If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.
